IF your bus suddenly cuts out at a stop, don’t worry – the driver is simply adhering to company policy.

Wilts and Dorset’s Reds buses, which run between Andover, Tidworth and Salisbury, are among those operating the policy, designed to cut carbon emissions.

As the company is equipped with more reliable modern buses, bus bosses are encouraging their drivers to turn off engines at bus stops to also save fuel.

Andrew Sherrington, operations manager at Salisbury Reds, says the tradition of drivers letting bus engines idle for long lengths of time is no longer necessary.

He said: “With modern, well-maintained engines thanks to our depot team, there should be no need for a bus driver to fear having a problem of restarting his bus – even on a freezing cold day.

“I’m sure that most motorists do not leave their car running if parked for more than a minute or two.

“We believe the new Switch Off policy will become even more appreciated as we start to move our services away from the bus station and into the city streets.

“Our fuel bill for the Salisbury area this year will exceed £1.6m, even with newer, fuel-efficient buses.

“If we are to sustain services in the area as austerity measures continue, we need to start switching off more.”

Salisbury Reds employs more than 120 bus drivers to provide the extensive bus network, using a fleet of 68 single-decker and doubledecker buses.

Unlike Andover, which is getting a new bus station, the old station a7 Salisbury is to close.